How Clayton is run
Who runs Clayton, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Clayton's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Clayton
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- Car allowance of $400 a month
- City pays $400 a month into his 457 deferred compensation plan
- Technology allowance of $50 a month
- CalPERS retirement; city pays the employer share
- $50,000 life insurance policy
Clayton city staff
28 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 12, Admin, finance and legal 8, Public works 6, Community development 2. FY2026-27. City of Clayton · May 5, 2026
The city posts a salary schedule with pay ranges for each job. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Clayton in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The budget says Clayton has a structural deficit: recurring general fund costs exceed recurring revenue by $323,458 in FY2026-27, after cuts that halved a projected $651,666 gap. Reserves are projected at about $5.86 million in June 2027, above the policy minimum of about $2.36 million. A 1% local sales tax on the November 2026 ballot would raise about $1.0 to $1.1 million a year; the budget does not count on it. City of Clayton · May 5, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $0 (2025-06-30). That means every dollar the general fund has saved is set aside in a named reserve or category, not that it has no savings. City of Clayton · Feb 24, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property taxes$1.5M · 25%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$1.4M · 23%
- Franchise fees$693,626 · 11%
- Sales and use tax$630,000 · 10%
- Administrative support transfers from other funds$388,255 · 6%
- Charges for services$290,711 · 5%
- Licenses and permits$269,000 · 4%
- Other (in-lieu payments, interest, grants, property transfer tax, fines, misc.)$679,539 · 11%
- From savings (recurring deficit)$323,458 · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$3.5M · 56%
- Administration, finance and legal$1.5M · 23%
- General services (insurance, retiree health, citywide costs)$425,945 · 7%
- Community development$361,330 · 6%
- Clayton Community Park$192,392 · 3%
- Public works: buildings and parks$144,816 · 2%
- Other (city council, library building)$155,134 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county splits among local agencies; the city's share is 0.06628 of the 1.00000 base rate, about 6.6 cents of each base-levy dollar. Voter-approved bonds for schools, BART, the community college, water and parks bring the total to 1.1041%. The city has no voter-approved debt rate.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Clayton
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, schools, the city and special districts)The city's share is about 6.6 cents of each base-levy dollar1 · 91%
- Mt. Diablo Unified School District bonds0.0718 · 7%
- BART0.0152 · 1%
- Contra Costa Community College District bonds0.0142 · 1%
- Contra Costa Water District land levy0.0018 · <1%
- East Bay Regional Park District bond0.0011 · <1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.1041
FY2025-26 rates for a home in Clayton (Contra Costa County). City of Clayton · May 5, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Clayton is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityClayton Police Department11 sworn officers and 2 support staffCity of Clayton · May 5, 2026
- Emergency medical servicesSeparate districtContra Costa County Fire Protection DistrictContra Costa County
- WaterSeparate districtContra Costa Water DistrictContra Costa LAFCO
- LibraryThe countyContra Costa County LibraryThe city owns and maintains the library buildingCity of Clayton · May 5, 2026
- Parks and open spaceThe cityCity of Clayton Public WorksCity of Clayton · May 5, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Clayton Public WorksCity of Clayton · May 5, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | ClaytonCA | PiedmontCA | Canyon LakeCA | AndersonCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 10,759 | 10,802 | 10,908 | 11,050 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $240,000 | $322,494 | $280,045 | $231,462 |
| Council member pay | $5,640 | No salary | Not confirmed | $3,600 |
| General fund per resident | $579 | $3,809 | $856 | $1,134 |
| Debt per resident | $90 | $2,638 | $33 | $615 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $637 | $3,760 | $56 | $1,531 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 9.4 | 3.5 | 6.5 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Canyon Lake and Anderson pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Clayton publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Clayton · May 5, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineKris Lofthus's 2024 employment agreement is attached to the August 20, 2024 council agenda in the city's meeting portal. City of Clayton · Aug 20, 2024
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote by name, such as the 5-0 vote electing Jeff Wan mayor on December 16, 2025. City of Clayton · Dec 16, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Clayton
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe adopted budget states council members are paid $470 per month. City of Clayton · May 5, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Clayton
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget still has a recurring general fund deficit of $323,458 after cuts. If the 1% sales tax on the November 2026 ballot fails, which services would change?
- In FY2024-25 the general fund spent $7.02 million and took in $6.38 million, and its balance fell by $502,676. How many years can reserves cover gaps of this size?
- The city manager's contract set pay at $240,000, rising to $250,000 after a satisfactory first-year review. Will the council report whether that raise took effect?
Help decide what comes next
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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